Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton takes final steps on road back to lineup, including live BP against Luis Severino

NEW YORK — Giancarlo Stanton took live batting practice against Luis Severino on Tuesday afternoon. He also ran the bases. The Yankees slugger then went out to the bullpen to track pitches. These were the final hurdles for Stanton before he can come off the injured list and rejoin the Yankees lineup.

Barring any late setbacks on the off day Wednesday on the West Coast, Stanton, who was dealing with Achilles tendinitis, will play Thursday against the A’s.

“I said make sure we get through the rest of the day,” manager Aaron Boone said before Tuesday’s game against the Mets. “Now he’s gonna go through and do outfield work and stuff during BP and assuming that goes right, I plan on him being activated for Thursday’s game.”

In 80 games this season, Stanton is hitting .228/.309/.498 with an .807 OPS 24 home runs and 61 RBIs. Stanton will be eased back into the outfield when he returns.

Stanton said he occasionally still feels the tendinitis in the mornings when he wakes up, but it’s manageable for the rest of the season. Since he went on the IL July 24, the Yankees have gone 10-17.

Britton starts

Zack Britton, who had elbow reconstruction surgery in October, will pitch in a minor league rehab game on Wednesday, just over a year since he last pitched in any game. The left-handed reliever will start for the low Class-A Tampa Tarpons in a very limited capacity.

“Well, the first couple he won’t throw more than 15 (pitches) but I think he really just wants to start getting into the game and in the competition of those things,” Boone said. “So like tomorrow, probably three hitters regardless. The first couple of outings will be like that. And then we’ll see how we are.”

The 34-year old Britton is in the final year of his contract with the Yankees. He made just 22 appearances last season before he was shut down to have Tommy John surgery that also including the insertion of a brace inside the elbow around the ligament. Britton has 154 career saves and had a 1.89 ERA in 2020, his last full season.

Carpenter return

Matt Carpenter, who fouled a ball off his foot, fracturing it, on Aug. 8, is still in a large boot and using a scooter to get around. The Yankees and the veteran slugger had been optimistic that he would return this season. With just 39 games left, however, Boone admitted he is racing the clock.

“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Boone said about whether they still think Carpenter can return this season. “I mean, he’s still non-weight bearing. I would expect that to be a couple more weeks, at least. Then you see how it moves from there. So that may not sound optimistic. That’s not the case. I mean, I think I think there’s definitely a chance he could be but I think we’re way too early to even know.”

Carpenter was a huge surprise for the Yankees. After hitting .177 with seven homers over his last two seasons with the Cardinals (2020-21), Carpenter was brought in as a lefty bat off the bench. He exploded hitting .305/.412/.727 with a 1.128 OPS over 47 games with the Yankees.

German rebounds

Domingo German was hobbling around the clubhouse after Monday night’s game. He took a 104-mph James McCann comebacker off his calf.

But Tuesday afternoon he looked like nothing happened.

“I was at least a little bit concerned coming in today and when I first saw him, he was coming in from a 45-minute run outside,” Boone said with a smile. “He looked like a marathon runner coming in and he just sweat and felt really good. So that was encouraging.”